Archive for January 2009
Barometers of conduct
Believe me, I didn’t ponder much, but I guess the title will be suitable for what we’re going to talk about today.
In this blog, I’ll put forward the ideas of 5 stations of conduct rating. In arabic terms, they are called:
“Wajib”, “Sunat”, “Harus”, “Makruh”, and “Dosa”.
These 5 terms denote the stations of conduct. In simple terms;
“Wajib” refers to obligatory actions.
“Sunat” refers to recommended / commendable actions.
“Harus” refers to could be actions.
Makruh refers to shunned / condemned actions.
“Dosa” refers to sinful actions.
Although normally this form of discussion will involve the concepts of “haram” & “Halal”, but let’s keep to the discussion to the 5 following standards above.
The thought that triggered this discussion would be a particular discussion about LAWs of God (the capitalization was intended) and how they were categorized in the Ruhi Book 5.
In order to simplify the connection between the 5 stations of the actions to the actions we do every day, I’ll use the “what do we do with water” example.
We know that water is an integral part of our lives. But let’s just put forward two ideas, “(Wo)Man”, (a noun), and “Water” (also a noun).
When a man is thirsty, he needs to quench his thirst with liquid. Between water, and other liquids, water is preferable. However, should he be in a state where he is starting to dehydrate, water is prefered over say, soda. If the (wo)man chooses water, (s)he is said to perform a “Harus”, because nothing is gained, nor harmed. However, choosing soda over water inclines the idea of “makruh” on the person, because (s)he is harming himself / herself. To continuously drink water from time time (to keep oneself healthy. hydrated and regulated) is an act of “sunat”, because it brings benefit to oneself.
(Wo)Man requires water to cleanse himself / herself physically. It is by far the best cleaning agent. It can be mixed, it can be just used plain, it can be in large nor small quantities, yet it physically cleanses (wo)man. The act of cleaning oneself is considered “Wajib”, because failure to do so will directly cause harm towards the body. In time, ailments and illnesses will descend upon the physical temple of the soul if the physical body is not cleaned. In this, a “dosa” has been performed. However, there is a huge distinction of those who fail to keep themselves healthy and those who have caught sickness.
But that’s roughly about the idea about the 5 stations.
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